Moving to St. Louis - Need to Find a Good Neighborhood

There are lots of great neighborhoods to choose from, especially since you won't have to worry about schools. South of that area is an area called Southhampton with adorable little gingerbread houses all lined up. (most with additions so that they aren't so small inside.)

When you are looking, know that they're planning to close I-64 for construction for a good portion of the time you'll be here. Don't plan a commute that requires that highway.

Hi L.,
I know the U City and Wash U/Barnes area well. If I were in your shoes I would probably looks at going prices for homes in the U City area closest to the university. Clayton if you can afford it or even Ladue. I don't know your financial situation or if it has changed at all now that your baby has come. I don't think you would have any trouble finding a nice place to rent if you can't afford to buy but if you could buy you will definitely make a profit in that area in that amount of time.
Here are some links that I saw on a search:
http://www.4salestlouis.com/St._Louis_Metro_relocation.shtml
http://www.findinghomesforyou.com/
http://www.explorestlouis.com/
Good luck!
L.

Hello. Congratulations on the new baby! I live in the Shaw Neighborhood, which is in the Garden district, approximately 2 miles from Barnes-Jewish/Wash Univ Medical Center Complex. We have a very active neighborhood association and a diverse mix of families, young professionals, retirees, etc. The homes tend to be in the 200-500 range, however we also have some homes that have been renovated and are now for rent along with other rental units throughout the neighborhood. Some of the other areas that I think are family friendly are Southwest Garden, Lafayette Square, Carondelet, The Hill, St. Louis Hills and Central West End which are all in the city. Good luck with your search.

J.

Hi L.-
My husband worked at Wash U for a while and there a few other people in our neighborhood that work there. Clayton and Ladue are extremely nice areas to live in and if you can afford it, go for it. I think your best bets are looking at neighborhoods near forest park such as University City which is very multi-cultural which I love! I live right between Hampton and McCausland. We have a wonderful neighborhood. The houses are very affordable and there are even quite a few houses for rent. We have a neighborhood playgroup that meets on Mondays and Fridays. There are a lot of neighborhoods that have playgroups so be sure to check into that also. A lot of areas have houses for rent which I think would be a great choice for your family since you will only be here for four years. Most neighborhoods around parks are nice in St. Louis so I would keep that in mind. Hampton is a very convenient road to live off of, mostly because both hwy 40 and 44 cross Hampton. I would definitely make sure your commute does not include 40 west of Hampton because of the hwy construction. I hope you are able to find something that you love here. I hope I was just a little bit of help. :) Good Luck and Welcome to St. Louis. :)

Hi L.,

St Louis has lots of great neighborhoods, in the city and in the county surrounding it. It really depends a lot on who you are. In the neighborhoods near the Barnes Hospital, you can have a really urban lifestyle. There is a great park, Tower Grove Park, which has playgrounds, a wading pool in summer, outdoor concerts, a farmer's market in summer. There are lots of restaurants and coffee shops within walking distance, all about 5 min from Barnes. But, not everyone is comfortable with city living, and it does depend on the street.

You can go just 5 min further and be in University City or Clayton, both very nice communities (though pricier).

Other thoughts, all within about 15 min of the hospital are Webster Groves (which is a nice community, with a liberal bent) or Kirkwood (lots of great downtown shopping, more republican than Webster).

There are tons of surburban communities which are really nice, and affordable, but don't really stand out as anything different than probably what you have as suburban communities in Michigan.

One other thought... I know someone else mentioned Creve Coeur, which is a nice suburban community. However, it would require a commute on I-64/40 which will have major construction beginning later this year and going on for several years. It will be a nightmare, and frankly, I would recommend staying away from anything that would require commuting on I-64. Any good realtor here in St Louis should be able to help you with that.

Good luck! I think you will enjoy St Louis. There are so many family-friendly, free things to do here!

i have lived all over st. louis. i currently live in webster groves (a suburb). My 'husband' works at barnes and he leaves 25 before he needs to get there and has plenty of time. of course he is leaving the house at 5:30 am. it is a little bit of a different story when i leave after 7:30am but still not bad. if you are looking to buy i would say a more stable investment would be to buy in the suburbs. (they don't see the fluctuation in the real estate market as much, which could be a good or a bad thing) there are some areas that are really 'coming up' in the city. when i was house hunting i was looking for something under 100 grand and had a really hard time finding something in a good nieghborhood. plus if you plan on sending your child to public school they really suck, you would have to shell out some cash for private schools. but that is a bit in the future for you i am sure.
Barnes is located in the central west end. that is a really nice part of the city and i have lived there in an apartment. its funny, though, the city has these pockets where its safe and then right next to it a part that is not so safe. but st. louis is also making a comeback and really cracking down on the city's problem areas. to buy in the central west end---you are looking at 300,000 and up. they did just put in some new lofts right across the street from barnes and then you have the west end and all of the resturaunts with outdoor seating, little shops and stuff all right there. it really is a nice part of town.

What is your price range? Some areas near the hospital are nice, but very expensive. I have lived in St. Louis all my life and would love to give you some ideas.

Hi L.,
I currently live in Creve Couer which is farther out from where Wash U is. It's a very nice area and we have a condo. I too have a baby girl 9 months old. We are looking to buy a house closer to my family who lives in Fenton which is South of where we live and about 30 min. away. We will be putting our condo up for sale soon. We have found a house we like. The school district is Parkway which is the best in the St. Louis area. Our condo has two bedrooms, 1 and 1/2 bath, finished basement, hardwood floors etc. It's very nice and plenty of room for three. Let me know if you might want to see pictures. Good luck on your move. S.

Welcome! I've heard Ann Arbor is wonderful, but I really like St. Louis (I'm not a native St. Louisan, so I'm not biased) and I think it's a great place to raise a child. My favorite neighborhoods here are Webster Groves, Shrewsbury, Kirkwood, and Glendale. They're all older, established, safe neighborhoods with good school districts, good resale values, and they're still very convenient to downtown and would be good choices for your husband. Other convenient locations for him would be Clayton (but outrageously expensive), University City, and Brentwood. However, the previously mentioned areas are more reasonably priced, and I think, have better communities. They have wonderful parks and the residents are involved and nice (Webster Groves has a university, so there are lots of professors and therefore, interesting things to do there, like a couple theatres and such). They're also nice, family-oriented neighborhoods, without being snobbish areas, in my opinion. And in case no one has told you, St. Louis is doing major construction on Highway 40 (which already has terrible traffic at all times), which is supposed to continue for 6 or 7 years. Therefore, I'd live somewhere where you and your husband won't have to rely on 270 and 40 very much- that leaves a house near highway 44 as your best option- and the first neighborhoods I mentioned are all on 44, especially Webster Groves and Shrewsbury.
My husband, my daughter and I live in Shrewsbury and we absolutely LOVE it. We have a 40 acre park at the end of our block, and our neighborhood feels like a family- when we go out of town I miss my neighbors, I can't believe it! They are small houses, but more and more people are adding on to them rather than moving. We actually are listing our house, probably next week, because we want to have a couple more children soon and need more room, so we're looking in the same area. If you're interested, I'd be glad to send you the listing when we put it up. There are also condos on the other side of our park, which are nice, though a good bit more expensive. I hope this helps, and feel free to email me any Qs you have about St. Louis- my email is ____@____.com
Good luck!
-A.

The area right around Barnes is very nice, it's called The Central West End, the only drawback of that area is the school district, but if you're only going to be here for four years, you won't have to worry about it. I wouldn't suggest commuting in right now because they are going to start major construction this year on the nearest highway to the hospital. Also, the area just west of Forest Park, called the Demun are is very nice, mostly condos. I live in Dogtown just south of Forest Park, and I love it, I'm really close to the zoo, I can walk. There are great parks in all these areas, as well as nice restaurants entertainment, plus they're all with in a ten minutes drive of Barnes. I Love the city and if you want any more advice, let me know. I know of a lot of other areas, but these happen to be my favorites that are close to Barnes.